Florida
On Wednesday, ONE members in Winter Park, Florida gathered at Rollins College to talk about President Obama’s State of the Union Address. The conditions in Haiti seemed to be at the top of everyone’s minds and conversations.
But, as the President reflected on 2009 and spoke about U.S. goals for 2010, what stood out to this group is the need for greater bipartisanship in order to increase America’s global leadership on development issues. In 2010, we look forward to continuing to work across party lines here in Florida and around the country as we advocate for efforts that save lives, fight disease and strengthen our national security.
Last night a group of us got together in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida to watch President Obama deliver his State of the Union address. During and after the president’s speech we talked at length about the critical importance of investing in development initiatives, including proven measures that help fight extreme poverty, hunger and preventable disease worldwide.
I was pleased to hear President Obama reiterate his support for global development efforts, and am confident that ONE members across the country will work hard this year to help make sure we continue to elevate development as one of the three pillars of U.S. foreign policy, along with defense and diplomacy.
I wanted to flag this great letter to the editor of the Sun Sentinel from ONE member Danielle DePas of Plantation, Florida. In it, she asks Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to use his influence to convince international institutions to forgive Haiti’s debt.
You can read an excerpt below. If you’d like to write a letter to the editor of your local paper, here are some great tips. And if your letter gets published, let us know here.
We need to make sure that this devastated nation has every available chance to recover and secure a better future. To help Haiti not only in the short term, but in the long term, the world should forgive Haiti’s international debt, which totals $890 million. The United States has already forgiven the debt Haiti owes us directly. But institutions that the United States has major influence with, like the International Monetary Fund, still have not forgiven Haiti’s debt. It’s time they do so. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has the power to convince these institutions to do the right thing.
As one member, as a South Florida resident and close neighbor of this struggling country, and as a caring and concerned human being, I ask that Secretary Geithner use his influence to persuade international lending institutions and countries to drop Haiti’s debt once and for all.
Moments after news broke of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, Haitian native and ONE member, Maeva Renaud began organizing relief efforts in South Florida.
With so many organizations and individuals looking to help, Maeva recognized the immediate need for a central communication hub; a place where people could access information on the best way to assist in the relief effort.
With this in mind, Maeva founded the Haitian Relief Taskforce to serve as a resource center for both short and long term development assistance. With help from volunteers across South Florida, Maeva is working around the clock to collect donations and coordinate donation drop-off locations.
As no stranger to advocating for humanitarian causes, Maeva was recently recognized by the Miami Herald for leading the local volunteer effort.
Long before this latest catastrophe struck, Maeva has worked to increase awareness about global extreme poverty. She is known around South Florida and beyond for using performance art to advocate for aid efforts for poor countries, especially her native Haiti. To start a drop-off location or help with Haitian relief, call Renaud at 305-297-9247 or visit www.maevatheartist.com or www.changeiscomingcampaign.com.
About two months ago, Ms. Cynthia Lebron took on the role of advisor to the ONE club at the Somerset Academy Charter School located in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Under her guidance, the students have been meeting weekly to learn more about health issues and poverty in developing countries. In just two months, the group has already put together a number of awareness activities in order to get the rest of the school talking about ONE and how each student can use their voice to help fight poverty.
Just last week, on World AIDS Day, members of the ONE club attached red balloons to their back packs for the day. Written on each balloon were statistics about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They got so many people talking about the disease that they are planning a ONE event this march with the hopes of reaching the larger community with their message.
Thanks to Ms. Lebron and the student members of the ONE club for helping to increase awareness in Florida about global poverty. To learn more about how you can get involved, visit ONE’s website for volunteer resources. To learn more about ONE activities in Florida, be sure to check the new ONE FLORIDA page on Facebook.
Dec 3rd, 2009 4:31 PM UTC
By Field
Yesterday we held our monthly ONE Pines Charter club meeting. At each meeting we try to discuss topics related to extreme poverty and disease so that students at my school become more informed about the challenges that people face in Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing areas of the world.
With World AIDS Day this week, we focused our meeting on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and discussed the importance of U.S. programs like PEPFAR and the Global Fund which are making a difference. Before leaving, everyone signed a letter to Florida Senators Nelson and LeMieux asking for their support on a fully funded U.S. response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
-Rafael Batista, President, ONE Pines Charter
This Sunday, I joined the Latter Rain Family Worship Center located in Pembroke Pines, Florida in their effort to take action for people living in extreme poverty around the world and struggling against epidemic disease.
The Sunday service was centered around having passion for people and becoming aware of the struggles of others. ONE member and performance artist, Maeva Renaud gave a moving speech to the congregation about how people of all faiths can help lead the effort against needless poverty and disease by raising awareness, speaking out and taking action on these vital issues.
Leading up to Sunday’s event, Maeva worked with the youth ministry on a special presentation to help further educate the congregation about global poverty and preventable diseases. During the service the students wore red and asked that everyone take time to acknowledge World AIDS Day this week. They also highlighted the Millennium Development Goals and gave a presentation on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I was inspired to see an outstanding group of young people so dedicated to helping others, but Maeva put it best when she said, “It’s great when we can teach the youth about what’s going on in the world, but it’s more powerful to see a young generation use their talents to inspire change.”
